Interview with Bruce Clothier - author of "A Darkness Shattered"
Book: A Darkness Shattered on AMAZON
Websites: http://www.adarknessshattered.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/adarknessshattered
Twitter: @brucloth
TS: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
BC: I’ve enjoyed writing my entire life. The ability to put my thoughts down on paper for others to enjoy is fun and challenging. While I’ve always wanted to write a book, until late last year the only writing I had ever done was papers when I was in school or professional work-related writing. I just never seemed to have the time to spend on a work of fiction. My wife is actually the one who encouraged me to write A Darkness Shattered. She knows it’s been a dream of mine to write a book and has supported me throughout the entire (and ongoing) process.
TS: How long does it take you to write a book?
BC: It took approximately four months from concept to publishing to write A Darkness Shattered.
TS: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
BC: I think it would be that I enjoy digging into the thoughts and feelings of my characters. As I write, I’m constantly worried that the reader will be left wondering why a character acted a certain way, and I don’t want that to happen. I want everyone to know exactly why the character did what they did. The exception of course is when there is some sort of hook or twist that can’t be revealed too early.
TS: What genre do you want to choose for your next books?
BC: When I finish The Darkmind Saga, I plan to write either an historical fiction book or a vampire book or series. Whatever I write, it will almost certainly be fiction because with very few exceptions, that’s all I read. In my mind, reading is an escape from the everyday. It’s an opportunity to immerse oneself into another world or even life. It’s hard to do that if you’re reading non-fiction!
TS: Where do you get your information or ideas for your book/s?
BC: Anything that is fact based (geography and technology come to mind), is researched in the library or online. I never write anything until I’ve referenced it on three different sources. When I’m reading a book and come across something that is either poorly researched or completely false, it will absolutely ruin the book for me and the author will have a hard time getting me back. In my mind, I (the purchaser and reader) wasn’t worth the time required for him or her to research the item fully, and that is unacceptable to me. I don’t want to be that author. As far as anything else, well it is a work of fiction!
TS: You published the book “A Darkness Shattered”, what inspired you to write a zombie novel?
BC: I have always been fascinated by the undead and I think watching and enjoying The Walking Dead got me thinking of alternate ways of telling a zombie apocalypse story.
TS: What do you like to do when you're not writing?
BC: I have a list of hobbies a mile long (ask my poor wife)! I am an amateur astronomer, I dabble in pinball and arcade machine repair, I build model ships (rigged sailing ships primarily), I am an amateur furniture maker, I play guitar, bass and drums too. I also enjoy playing golf, softball and ice hockey.
TS: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book/s?
BC: How many different ways you can write a sentence to have the same meaning!
TS: Is there anything you can tell me or other writers, how to become a better writer?
BC: I will withhold that comment until the day one of my books makes a bestseller list. Then we’ll know whether my advice is worth listening to! :)
TS: Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
BC: I actually do and it’s wonderful but they say things that are bad for my ego! Seriously, the feedback has been fantastic from all age groups and both genders which is really encouraging. A Darkness Shattered contains a great deal of character emotion, a budding (and at times awkward and funny) love story and a paranormal twist at the end. These three items depart from what is normally considered the “zombie apocalypse genre” and in truth I had vast sections of the book on the chopping block right up to the time I submitted it to Amazon.com to be published. I was afraid the book wouldn’t be accepted with those topics included: I feared the macho readers would balk at the emotion and love story, and that the zombie purists would dislike the paranormal angle. I finally decided to leave them in because that’s what I had written, and that’s what I felt made it different. I am very happy to say that almost without fail, those three items are what my readers tell me they enjoyed the most – and in many cases, exuberantly so!
TS: What do you think makes a good story?
BC: I think first and foremost, the characters must be believable! You or I can’t catch bullets in our teeth, and unless you are writing about a superhero, don’t let your characters do that! In my mind, characters are merely people on paper and just as we do, they should have dreams, fears and motives. When a character does something, the reader should never have to ask themselves why. If you’ve developed him or her well enough, the reader will be able to accept that the character would or could do it and be able to continue reading the story seamlessly.
People read to be entertained. When I read a book, I have the ability to shut off the world around me and insert myself into the story. I can see, smell and hear whatever is going on in the book. As I’m sure I’m not the only one that does this, I feel it’s critical to give your readers every opportunity possible for them to sample this world you have created for them. What’s the weather like? What are the people around you doing? What’s that smell and what caused it and so forth. It’s possible to do this without dragging the story down and that’s what I think successful authors do so well. I believe it makes a more enjoyable experience for the reader that took a chance on you and spent some of their hard-earned money on your book.
TS: As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
BC: When I was a boy, the space program was in full force and I would watch the space shots and moon landings until my parents forced me away from the television. I read everything I could get my hands on about NASA and the astronauts and if I could have chosen to do anything, it would have been to be an astronaut and fly in space. If I ever sell enough books, I may be able to afford a ride on Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic! In fact, I would mortgage everything I have for the opportunity to take that twenty minute ride…
TS: Bruce, thank you so much for this interview! I really appreciate the time you took for this! And I really enjoyed reading your answers, very detailed! I hope that the readers of this blog will enjoy the interview as well! I wish you good luck with your future projects and of course with A Darkness Shattered!
Websites: http://www.adarknessshattered.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/adarknessshattered
Twitter: @brucloth
TS: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
BC: I’ve enjoyed writing my entire life. The ability to put my thoughts down on paper for others to enjoy is fun and challenging. While I’ve always wanted to write a book, until late last year the only writing I had ever done was papers when I was in school or professional work-related writing. I just never seemed to have the time to spend on a work of fiction. My wife is actually the one who encouraged me to write A Darkness Shattered. She knows it’s been a dream of mine to write a book and has supported me throughout the entire (and ongoing) process.
TS: How long does it take you to write a book?
BC: It took approximately four months from concept to publishing to write A Darkness Shattered.
TS: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
BC: I think it would be that I enjoy digging into the thoughts and feelings of my characters. As I write, I’m constantly worried that the reader will be left wondering why a character acted a certain way, and I don’t want that to happen. I want everyone to know exactly why the character did what they did. The exception of course is when there is some sort of hook or twist that can’t be revealed too early.
TS: What genre do you want to choose for your next books?
BC: When I finish The Darkmind Saga, I plan to write either an historical fiction book or a vampire book or series. Whatever I write, it will almost certainly be fiction because with very few exceptions, that’s all I read. In my mind, reading is an escape from the everyday. It’s an opportunity to immerse oneself into another world or even life. It’s hard to do that if you’re reading non-fiction!
TS: Where do you get your information or ideas for your book/s?
BC: Anything that is fact based (geography and technology come to mind), is researched in the library or online. I never write anything until I’ve referenced it on three different sources. When I’m reading a book and come across something that is either poorly researched or completely false, it will absolutely ruin the book for me and the author will have a hard time getting me back. In my mind, I (the purchaser and reader) wasn’t worth the time required for him or her to research the item fully, and that is unacceptable to me. I don’t want to be that author. As far as anything else, well it is a work of fiction!
TS: You published the book “A Darkness Shattered”, what inspired you to write a zombie novel?
BC: I have always been fascinated by the undead and I think watching and enjoying The Walking Dead got me thinking of alternate ways of telling a zombie apocalypse story.
TS: What do you like to do when you're not writing?
BC: I have a list of hobbies a mile long (ask my poor wife)! I am an amateur astronomer, I dabble in pinball and arcade machine repair, I build model ships (rigged sailing ships primarily), I am an amateur furniture maker, I play guitar, bass and drums too. I also enjoy playing golf, softball and ice hockey.
TS: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book/s?
BC: How many different ways you can write a sentence to have the same meaning!
TS: Is there anything you can tell me or other writers, how to become a better writer?
BC: I will withhold that comment until the day one of my books makes a bestseller list. Then we’ll know whether my advice is worth listening to! :)
TS: Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
BC: I actually do and it’s wonderful but they say things that are bad for my ego! Seriously, the feedback has been fantastic from all age groups and both genders which is really encouraging. A Darkness Shattered contains a great deal of character emotion, a budding (and at times awkward and funny) love story and a paranormal twist at the end. These three items depart from what is normally considered the “zombie apocalypse genre” and in truth I had vast sections of the book on the chopping block right up to the time I submitted it to Amazon.com to be published. I was afraid the book wouldn’t be accepted with those topics included: I feared the macho readers would balk at the emotion and love story, and that the zombie purists would dislike the paranormal angle. I finally decided to leave them in because that’s what I had written, and that’s what I felt made it different. I am very happy to say that almost without fail, those three items are what my readers tell me they enjoyed the most – and in many cases, exuberantly so!
TS: What do you think makes a good story?
BC: I think first and foremost, the characters must be believable! You or I can’t catch bullets in our teeth, and unless you are writing about a superhero, don’t let your characters do that! In my mind, characters are merely people on paper and just as we do, they should have dreams, fears and motives. When a character does something, the reader should never have to ask themselves why. If you’ve developed him or her well enough, the reader will be able to accept that the character would or could do it and be able to continue reading the story seamlessly.
People read to be entertained. When I read a book, I have the ability to shut off the world around me and insert myself into the story. I can see, smell and hear whatever is going on in the book. As I’m sure I’m not the only one that does this, I feel it’s critical to give your readers every opportunity possible for them to sample this world you have created for them. What’s the weather like? What are the people around you doing? What’s that smell and what caused it and so forth. It’s possible to do this without dragging the story down and that’s what I think successful authors do so well. I believe it makes a more enjoyable experience for the reader that took a chance on you and spent some of their hard-earned money on your book.
TS: As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
BC: When I was a boy, the space program was in full force and I would watch the space shots and moon landings until my parents forced me away from the television. I read everything I could get my hands on about NASA and the astronauts and if I could have chosen to do anything, it would have been to be an astronaut and fly in space. If I ever sell enough books, I may be able to afford a ride on Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic! In fact, I would mortgage everything I have for the opportunity to take that twenty minute ride…
TS: Bruce, thank you so much for this interview! I really appreciate the time you took for this! And I really enjoyed reading your answers, very detailed! I hope that the readers of this blog will enjoy the interview as well! I wish you good luck with your future projects and of course with A Darkness Shattered!
